The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons: Sweaters and Accessories for Men and Women [Hardcover]

Julie Carles (Author), Jordana Jacobs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2007

Yarn girls, whose easy, stylish knitting projects helped kick off the current craze, are back to show knitters-who-can’t-get-enough how to knit all year round. While the Yarn Girls still love wool sweaters as much as the next knitter, they want designs that work for the beach as well as the ski slopes. In their fifth book, Knits for All Seasons, they offer projects for every month of the year.

These forty new patterns are conveniently organized by season: a vest for fall and a Chanel-inspired cardigan for winter. For spring, you will find a three-quarter-sleeve boatneck and a short-sleeve polo. And the perfect projects for summer include a ruffle skirt and a halter top with cabling. As always, clearly written instructions will allow knitters of all skill levels to achieve polished results. Plus, many of the patterns knit up quickly, ensuring nearly instant gratification.

Ideal for knitters in warmer climates as well as anyone who likes to wear their hand knits year-round, this is the yarn girls’ most versatile book yet and one that you will return to again and again.
Inveterate knitters since college, Julie Carles and Jordana Jacobs left their respective careers in the medical and legal worlds to assume ownership of the Yarn Company, New York City’s landmark knitting store, in 1997. The store has become a destination for celebrities and locals alike, who come for the quickly sold-out classes, unrivaled yarn selection, customized knitting patterns, and friendly conversation. Visit the Yarn Company at www.theyarnco.com.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julie and Jordana live in New York City. They are the authors of The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Simple Knits, The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Kid Knits, The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Knits for Older Kids, and The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Beyond the Basics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307345947
• ISBN-13: 978-0307345943
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,172,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simplicity and Style, July 30, 2007

By 

E. L. Weinhold "Lolly" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons: Sweaters and Accessories for Men and Women (Hardcover)

The concept behind the Yarn Girls' fifth book is pretty solid: knits for every season of the year. The book is arranged by season, and there are 40 patterns represented of different technical skill levels. The majority of projects are well-suited to beginning knitters who are ready to move into garment making. Intermediate and advanced knitters will appreciate the simplicity of the patterns, and can also use the basic constructions as a "jumping off point" to add colorwork, cables, shaping, or other embellishments.

The majority of the fibers and yarns used in the book's designs are easy to find, and are common weights and materials, able to be substituted easily. The fibers are natural, and there are also a few patterns that use vegan yarns and yarns from sustainable plant fibers (mainly linens and linen blends). My only complaint comes with the sizing: They are not quantified with sizes as many other knit patterns are (e.g. 34", 36", 40") but rather XS, S, M, L. Knitted measurements are provided in the pattern along with a schematic, so a XS corresponds with a finished width of 16", which would probably relate to about a size 32" or 33" (with ease). Sure, the information is there, but I am not sure why they choose to display it in this unconventional way; it could be confusing to a beginner.

The simplicity of the designs are what is so appealing - I like classic styles. If I am going to take the time and effort to knit something, I want it to be "in style" for years to come. These styles will undoubtedly stick around, and they will be fun to knit up in the process.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another hit, August 7, 2007

By 

Marie (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons: Sweaters and Accessories for Men and Women (Hardcover)

I am a Yarn Girls "groupie" so I immediately pre-ordered this book as soon as I found out it was coming out. In keeping with the Yarn Girls style, this book is chock full of fun and fashionable sweaters showing lots of great colors and yarns. There are also some men's sweaters included which are all classic styles. Like their last book, there are also normal people modeling the styles which is such a refreshing change. However, I would have thought that by book #5, they can get into some shaping for waists and shoulders. These are techniques I've picked up in my short knitting experience that really make a difference and was rather surprised to find it missing. There are some styles I'd like to make, and I know I have to spend some additional time calculating the waist shaping on my own. An example is the "For a good cause" basic tank (they've included this same pattern in each of their other books) which would benefit greatly with some shaping. Even the beautiful girl in the picture looks a bit frumpy with the poor fit. Of course, the men's patterns and some other shrugs/boxy cardigans don't require such shaping, so no further work is involved than picking your favorite shade of yarn and getting started. All in all this is still a book I'd recommend. Do look into the Yarn Girls other books, especially "Beyond the Basics".

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars classic patterns, August 14, 2007

By 

D. G. Van Velsen "- EDDIE" (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons: Sweaters and Accessories for Men and Women (Hardcover)

The patterns in this book are lovely, classic patterns. The main problem is that the biggest sizes for women are about 38 to 40 inch finished bust size. I noticed that all the women models wore their garments skin tight so these patterns may be meant to have negative ease but it would be better to have a larger size range.The mens patterns were also nice but were worn much looser. Australian knitters could subsitute 12 ply and 8 ply yarns for many of the patterns.